When Art Kleinrath retired from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) on Jan. 29, the office bid farewell to one of its original founders.  

Kleinrath spent 30 years with DOE, beginning with the former Mound Laboratory (now LM’s Mound, Ohio, Site) under the Defense Production Environmental Restoration Program. After his success on the Mound cleanup resulted in a restoration approach applicable to other sites, Kleinrath was asked in 2000 to create a new program from scratch in Grand Junction for managing Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) sites. In 2003, LM was born.  

“I’ve been here since day one,” Kleinrath said. “The names and structures change, but the mission has remained the same over the years.” 

Kleinrath said that he’s especially proud of being part of formalizing the transition process for UMTRCA sites as they move from the cleanup phase into LM for long-term stewardship.  

“I did a lot of things for which there was no guidance, and I just had to step in and create a process,” he said. “The great thing about working here is the trust I’ve gotten, to allow me to work on projects that have no handbook. I’ve appreciated that trust from my bosses and all the people I’ve worked with at DOE.”